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Summary of the Book of Ezekiel

This summary of the book of Ezekiel provides information about the title, author(s), date of writing, chronology, theme,
theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the Book of Ezekiel.

Background

Ezekiel lived during a time of international upheaval. The Assyrian empire
that had once conquered the Syro-Palestinian area and destroyed the northern
kingdom of Israel (which fell to the Assyrians in 722-721 b.c.) began to crumble
under the blows of a resurgent Babylon. In 612 the great Assyrian city of Nineveh
fell to a combined force of Babylonians and Medes. Three years later, Pharaoh
Neco II of Egypt marched north to assist the Assyrians and to try to reassert
Egypt's age-old influence over Canaan and Aram (Syria). At Megiddo, King Josiah
of Judah, who may have been an ally of Babylon as King Hezekiah had been, attempted
to intercept the Egyptian forces but was crushed, losing his life in the battle
(see 2Ki 23:29-30; 2Ch 35:20-24).

Jehoahaz, a son of Josiah, ruled Judah for only three months, after which
Neco installed Jehoiakim, another son of Josiah, as his royal vassal in Jerusalem
(609 b.c.). In 605 the Babylonians overwhelmed the Egyptian army at Carchemish
(see Jer 46:2), then pressed south as far as the Philistine plain. In the same
year, Nebuchadnezzar was elevated to the Babylonian throne and Jehoiakim shifted
allegiance to him. When a few years later the Egyptian and Babylonian forces
met in a standoff battle, Jehoiakim rebelled against his new overlord.

Nebuchadnezzar soon responded by sending a force against Jerusalem, subduing
it in 597 b.c. Jehoiakim's son Jehoiachin and about 10,000 Jews (see 2Ki 24:14),
including Ezekiel, were exiled to Babylon, where they joined those who had
been exiled in Jehoiakim's "third year" (see Da 1:1 and note). Nebuchadnezzar
placed Jehoiachin's uncle, Zedekiah, on the throne in Jerusalem, but within
five or six years he too rebelled. The Babylonians laid siege to Jerusalem
in 588, and in July, 586, the walls were breached and the city plundered. On
Aug. 14, 586, the city and temple were burned.

Under Nebuchadnezzar and his successors, Babylon dominated the international
scene until it was crushed by Cyrus the Persian in 539 b.c. The reign of the
house of David came to an end; the kingdom of Judah ceased to be an independent
nation; Jerusalem and the Lord's temple lay in ruins.

Author

What
is known of Ezekiel is derived solely from the book that bears his name. He
was among the Jews exiled to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar in 597 b.c., and there
among the exiles he received his call to become a prophet (see 1:1-3). He was
married (see 24:15-18), lived in a house of his own (see 3:24; 8:1) and along
with his fellow exiles, though confined to Babylonia, had a relatively free
existence there.

He was of a priestly family (see NIV text note on 1:3) and therefore was
eligible to serve as a priest. As a priest-prophet called to minister to the
exiles (separated from the temple of the Lord with its symbolism, sacrifices,
priestly ministrations and worship rituals), his message had much to do with
the temple (see especially chs. 8 - 11; 40 - 48) and its ceremonies.

Ezekiel was obviously a man of broad knowledge, not only of his own national
traditions but also of international affairs and history. His acquaintance
with general matters of culture, from shipbuilding to literature, is equally
amazing. He was gifted with a powerful intellect and was capable of grasping
large issues and of dealing with them in grand and compelling images. His style
is often detached, but in places it is passionate and earthy (see chs. 16;
23).

More than any other prophet (more even than Hosea and Jeremiah) he was directed
to involve himself personally in the divine word by acting it out in prophetic
symbolism.

Occasion, Purpose and Summary of Contents

Though Ezekiel lived with his fellow exiles in Babylon, his divine call forced
him to suppress any natural expectations he may have had of an early return
to an undamaged Jerusalem. For the first seven years of his ministry (593-586
b.c.) he faithfully relayed to his fellow Jews the stern, heart-rending, hope-crushing
word of divine judgment: Because of all her sins, Jerusalem would fall (see
chs. 1 - 24). The fact that Israel was God's covenant people and that Jerusalem
was the city of his temple would not bring their early release from exile or
prevent Jerusalem from being destroyed (see Jer 29-30). The only hope the prophet
was authorized to extend to his hearers was that of living at peace with themselves
and with God during their exile.

After being informed by the Lord that Jerusalem was under siege and would
surely fall (24:1-14), Ezekiel was told that his beloved wife would soon die.
The delight of his eyes would be taken from him just as the temple, the delight
of Israel's eyes, would be taken from her. He was not to mourn openly for his
wife, as a sign to his people not to mourn openly for Jerusalem (24:15-27).
He was then directed to pronounce a series of judgments on the seven nations
of Ammon, Moab, Edom, Philistia, Tyre, Sidon and Egypt (chs. 25 - 32). The day
of God's wrath was soon to come, but not on Israel alone.

Once news was received that Jerusalem had fallen, Ezekiel's message turned
to the Lord's consoling word of hope for his people -- they would experience revival,
restoration and a glorious future as the redeemed and perfected kingdom of
God in the world (chs. 33 - 48).

Date

Since
the book of Ezekiel contains more dates than any other
OT prophetic book, its prophecies can be dated with considerable precision.
In addition, modern scholarship, using archaeology (Babylonian annals on cuneiform
tablets) and astronomy (accurate dating of eclipses referred to in ancient
archives), provides precise modern calendar equivalents.

Twelve of the 13 dates specify times when Ezekiel received a divine message.
The other is the date of the arrival of the messenger who reported the fall
of Jerusalem (33:21).

Having received his call in July, 593 b.c., Ezekiel was active for 22 years,
his last dated oracle being received in April, 571 (see 29:17). If the "thirtieth
year" of 1:1 refers to Ezekiel's age at the time of his call, his prophetic
career exceeded a normal priestly term of service by two years (see Nu 4:3).
His period of activity coincides with Jerusalem's darkest hour, preceding the
586 destruction by 7 years and following it by 15.

Themes

The OT in general and the prophets in particular presuppose and teach God's
sovereignty over all creation, over people and nations and the course of history.
And nowhere in the Bible are God's initiative and control expressed more clearly
and pervasively than in the book of Ezekiel. From the first chapter, which
graphically describes the overwhelming invasion of the divine presence into
Ezekiel's world, to the last phrase of Ezekiel's vision ("the Lord is there")
the book sounds and echoes God's sovereignty.

This sovereign God resolved that he would be known and acknowledged. Approximately
65 occurrences of the clause (or variations) "Then they will know that I am
the Lord" testify to that divine desire and intention (see note on 6:7). Overall,
chs. 1 - 24 teach that God will be revealed in the fall of Jerusalem and the
destruction of the temple; chs. 25 - 32 teach that the nations likewise will
know God through his judgments; and chs. 33 - 48 promise that God will be known
through the restoration and spiritual renewal of Israel.

God's total sovereignty is also evident in his mobility. He is not limited
to the temple in Jerusalem. He can respond to his people's sin by leaving his
sanctuary in Israel, and he can graciously condescend to visit his exiled children
in Babylon.

God is free to judge, and he is equally free to be gracious. His stern judgments
on Israel ultimately reflect his grace. He allows the total dismemberment of
Israel's political and religious life so that her renewed life and his presence
with her will be clearly seen as a gift from the Lord of the universe.

Furthermore, as God's spokesman, Ezekiel's "son of man" status (see note
on 2:1) testifies to the sovereign God he was commissioned to serve.

Literary Features

The three major prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel) and Zephaniah all have
the same basic sequence of messages: (1) oracles against Israel, (2) oracles
against the nations, (3) consolation for Israel. In no other book is this pattern
clearer than in Ezekiel (see Outline).

Besides clarity of structure, the book of Ezekiel reveals symmetry. The vision
of the desecrated temple fit for destruction (chs. 8 - 11) is balanced by the
vision of the restored and purified temple (chs. 40 - 48). The God presented
in agitated wrath (ch. 1) is also shown to be a God of comfort ("the Lord is
there," 48:35). Ezekiel's call to be a watchman announcing divine judgment
(ch. 3) is balanced by his call to be a watchman announcing the new age to
follow (ch. 33). In one place (ch. 6) the mountains of Israel receive a prophetic rebuke, but in another (ch. 36) they are consoled.

Prophetic books are usually largely poetic, the prophets apparently having
spoken in imaginative and rhythmic styles. Most of Ezekiel, however, is prose,
perhaps due to his priestly background. His repetitions have an unforgettable
hammering effect, and his priestly orientation is also reflected in a case-law
type of sentence (compare 3:19, "If you do warn the wicked . . .," with Ex
21:2, "If you buy a Hebrew servant . . .").

Theological Significance

Other prophets deal largely with Israel's idolatry, with her moral corruption
in public and private affairs, and with her international intrigues and alliances
on which she relied instead of the Lord. They announce God's impending judgment
on his rebellious nation but speak also of a future redemption: a new exodus,
a new covenant, a restored Jerusalem, a revived Davidic dynasty, a worldwide
recognition of the Lord and his Messiah and a paradise-like peace.

The contours and sweep of Ezekiel's message are similar, but he focuses uniquely
on Israel as the holy people of the holy temple, the holy city and the holy
land. By defiling her worship, Israel had rendered herself unclean and had
defiled temple, city and land. From such defilement God could only withdraw
and judge his people with national destruction.

But God's faithfulness to his covenant and his desire to save were so great
that he would revive his people once more, shepherd them with compassion, cleanse
them of all their defilement, reconstitute them as a perfect expression of
his kingdom under the hand of "David" (34:23-24), overwhelm all the forces
and powers arrayed against them, display his glory among the nations and restore
the glory of his presence to the holy city.

Ezekiel powerfully depicts the grandeur and glory of God's sovereign rule
(see Themes) and his holiness, which he jealously safeguards. The book's theological
center is the unfolding of God's saving purposes in the history of the world -- from
the time in which he must withdraw from the defilement of his covenant people
to the culmination of his grand design of redemption. The message of Ezekiel,
which is ultimately eschatological, anticipates -- even demands -- God's future works
in history proclaimed by the NT.